Public Relations Schools

As a professor or instructor of public relations classes at one of the 325 accredited public relations schools in the country, you play a significant role in shaping the future of this growing field. The trends in the public relations academic community can be evaluated by looking at the statistics and graphs below, which includes public relations training at the following levels:

Public Relations Certificate

Associates degree in Public Relations

Bachelors degree in Public Relations

Masters degree in Public Relations

PhD degree in Public Relations

Statistics

Professional Trends

National Employment growth for Public relations professionals

44,010

47,210

51,730

53,270

53,460

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Dark Yellow: Actual Values

There were 53,460 public relations professionals working in the US in 2010. Over the course of the past 4 years, this number has grown by 21%.

This growth is faster than the growth for all careers between the years 2006 and 2010, which was 1%.

National Salary percentiles for Public relations professionals

10th percentile

$49,720

25th percentile

$66,930

50th percentile

$91,810

75th percentile

$128,470

90th percentile

$165,130

Public relations professionals in the US earned a median salary of $91,810 per year in 2010. The median yearly salary for public relations professionals in the US was 53% more than that for all
professions, which was $68,155 per year.

National Median Salary Growth For Public Relations

$82,180

$86,470

$89,430

$89,690

$91,810

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Light Blue: Salaries

There has been a 12% growth in public relations professionals' salaries from 2006 to 2010.

Educational Trends

National Public Relations Student enrollment growth by degree

642

615

575

672

409

8,776

9,007

9,712

10,231

9,889

1

8

10

10

16

582

561

613

640

711

39

64

66

113

190

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Yellow: Associate's Degree in Public Relations

Blue: Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations

Red: Doctorates Degree in Public Relations

Light blue: Master's Degree in Public Relations

Grey: Certificate in Public Relations

We are seeing a rapid change in the career outlook for public relations professionals. However, the story on the educational front is quite different. In 2006, 10,040 students graduated from public relations degree programs in the US. In 2010, 11,215 students graduated from public relations schools.

This represents a 12% change in the number of graduates. This growth in the number of students graduating from public relations courses is less than the 12% growth nationally for students graduating from institutions of higher learning in general.

Public Relations Programs offered Nationwide

associate

26

bachelor

273

master

45

doctor

3

Certificate

22

Total

369

The number of schools offering public relations programs has decreased. There were 281 public relations schools across the country in 2006. And there were 325 schools in 2010.

Public Relations Faculty Salaries

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The number of public relations faculty, growth in the field of public relations academia and public relations faculty salaries is all data we are currently in the process of collecting.
We would appreciate your help. If you teach public relations courses to students at the certificate in public relations, associates degree in public relations, bachelors degree in public relations, masters degree in public relations, and PhD degree in public relations levels, please anonymously submit your information in the field below. By doing so, you will be helping us build a valuable database resource for the benefit of current and future public relations faculty. A summary of the information we have collected thus far will appear once you submit your information.